Mellowyellowgirl's home blueberry dye experiment with lavender jade bangle

[mellowyellowgirl]

Sooo the ladies on the various jade threads were all chatting, one thing led to another and here we are.

Before pics

Lavender bangle in shade



Lavender bangle in sun



Lavender bangle with necklace (for colour reference) in shade



Lavender bangle with necklace (for colour reference) in sun

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Mushed blueberries in pot



Bangle submerged in blueberries



I'll let this cool and then I'm going to refrigerate it because I don't want it growing anything.

How many days do you guys think I should leave it for?

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

Educate me, please. I know near ZERO about jade at all. Does this affect value? Is this a standard procedure? Is it ok if its uneven? Does it only work with non-pregnated jade? This seems so brave!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Haha it's just a home experiment @Mrs_Strizzle

The bangle was an inexpensive A grade greyish super light lavender colour.

I am just doing this for fun and to see if there is ANY colour change at all.

We were chatting and someone (I think it was Seaglow) mentioned that sometimes Lavender jade is dyed using blueberry juice so the colour fades. So I decided to experiment. Honestly I reckon they must do other stuff to get the dye to seep in so I'm not expecting much change but it is fun to do something silly.

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

Haha it's just a home experiment @Mrs_Strizzle

The bangle was an inexpensive A grade greyish super light lavender colour.

I am just doing this for fun and to see if there is ANY colour change at all.

We were chatting and someone (I think it was Seaglow) mentioned that sometimes Lavender jade is dyed using blueberry juice so the colour fades. So I decided to experiment. Honestly I reckon they must do other stuff to get the dye to seep in so I'm not expecting much change but it is fun to do something silly.

Ha, ok. I honestly didn't think you were ruining a VERY valuable piece, as I read your jade ring thread and knew you are more educated about jade than that. I've been intrigued by lavender jade recently, and was incredibly tempted to pull the trigger on a ring, but blew my load on my new sapphire, ha. But it definitely is in my future!

 

[strawrose]

I look forward to seeing the results!

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

What a fun experiment! Can't wait to see if the color changes and if so how long it lasts.

 

[prs]

The Pink Bandit and your son have a lot to put up with at the moment. The least you could do is make them a blueberry pie!

 

[Lovinggems]

The colour looks darker already. Will be interesting to see the end result once it’s dried.

 

[JPie]

Your bangle must smell delicious now! Looking forward to the results.

 

[Seaglow]

Hope you get a nice color!

 

[natasha-cupcake]

What fun! I love science experiments!

 

[ChaiK]

Oh, it already looks more purple pink.

I read also, on Gia, that the pinkish lavender ones are the suspect ones.

https://www.gia.edu/doc/Some-Observations-on-the-Treatment-of-Lavender-Jadeite.pdf

I also read that in the Myanmar or Chinese markets, they rub a sort of colour powder onto the bangle so the colour looks better. The colour fades in a short period of time.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Oh, it already looks more purple pink.

I read also, on Gia, that the pinkish lavender ones are the suspect ones.

https://www.gia.edu/doc/Some-Observations-on-the-Treatment-of-Lavender-Jadeite.pdf

I also read that in the Myanmar or Chinese markets, they rub a sort of colour powder onto the bangle so the colour looks better. The colour fades in a short period of time.

Some do. You can tell if the bangle has stone lines and the powder sinks in. Or fades after a while.

 

[ChaiK]

Ohhhh.....stone lines. Like at the stone line, the colour is vivid for some weird reason. Like shining vivid. Very bad, these traders.

 

[Bluegemz]

Color polish is used on low quality, opaque jade to make them look more attractive. I imagine it would be much easier to see in translucent pieces, as a kind of color cloud floating on the surface only.

 

[Bluegemz]

Cool experiment!! Mellow, if the color doesn’t ‘take’, it may be coming from wax blocking the pores, in which case a hair dryer and/or use a dissolving agent would come in handy. Looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[Burmesedaze]

We are going to the Mandalay jade market tomorrow

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Out of sheer curiosity I picked it out of the liquid and washed it.

Nuffin!

Back to soaking!

Just to warn you guys I don't think anything exciting will happen! Once you wash it the blueberry just washes off! It's not very staining!

***
Ohh just saw @Bluegemz's post!

Must be the wax then! Will it help if I warm up the blueberry mix?

I am ok with dying it but I'm worried heat will crack the bangle!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

We are going to the Mandalay jade market tomorrow

Arghhh so jelly of you! I have come to accept that I will never get to obtain the goods you get at the prices you get! Do take lots of piccies for us if you can!!!!!!

This ban is killing me!

 

[Bluegemz]

I don’t think you will crack the bangle at all. Jades have been heated to much higher temps than that without damage. In a video which I posted, a jade artist melted wax over his finished piece with a dryer and then heated the jade to get an even coating with the dryer. There are also agents like turpentine which dissolves wax.

 

[Seaglow]

We are going to the Mandalay jade market tomorrow

Can’t wait to see what’s on! My visit to Myanmar long overdue...

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I don’t think you will crack the bangle at all. Jades have been heated to much higher temps than that without damage. In a video which I posted, a jade artist melted wax over his finished piece with a dryer and then heated the jade to get an even coating with the dryer. There are also agents like turpentine which dissolves wax.

You reckon I can simmer it in the blueberry mix?

Lol only in the PS Coloured Stone thread do we consider boiling things in blueberry!

 

[Bluegemz]

Out of sheer curiosity I picked it out of the liquid and washed it.

Nuffin!

Back to soaking!

Just to warn you guys I don't think anything exciting will happen! Once you wash it the blueberry just washes off! It's not very staining!

***
Ohh just saw @Bluegemz's post!

Must be the wax then! Will it help if I warm up the blueberry mix?

I am ok with dying it but I'm worried heat will crack the bangle!

Also, heating in the blueberry mix would work best if the wax is off. But with wax on, the wax would mostly float to the surface, but I’m not sure what would happen with the wax lodged into the micro crevices of the stone.

 

[Bluegemz]

I imagine that for the dye to get into the stone, one would have to open the pores with heat. I think heat is an used in the dying most things, since generally heat makes reactions go faster...but I have no idea about how much heat. Too bad these dying techniques are often guarded lol!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Haha considering how paranoid we are about treatments and whether it's A grade it is funny we are trying to turn the bangle into a D grade.

I'll boil it and bit and see! Or simmer. Maybe I'll simmer once a day to delay the mould growing too!

 

[Bluegemz]

Also, Mellow, I have never tried heating jade, though the GIA article above talksof heat bleaching and temps used...but as always, don’t try heating unless you don’t care about permanent changes or potential damage!!one never knows what ‘could’ happen, and each jade piece is so variable.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I will take it out of the fridge tomorrow for a bit to avoid drastic changes in temperature.

 

[Bluegemz]

If only one had some white, low grade cabs to experiment on!

 

[ChaiK]

We are going to the Mandalay jade market tomorrow

Oh, take pictures of these colour powdered bangles, please. Thank you.

I wish I could go to Mandalay market.